by Michael E. Brooks

"I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel" (Gal. 1:6).

Have you ever observed children at a gift-giving occasion? They are so excited with every new toy they unwrap, but so often within minutes have laid it down, maybe to never give it much attention ever again. New things grab our attention, but it takes much more than novelty to hold it.

A couple of months ago at Khulna Bible College in Bangladesh we bought a new reel-type manual lawn mower. It has no motor, and is powered only by the energy of the one pushing it. Yet, compared to the hand cutting of the grass and weeds that we had been doing, the new mower is modern technology. It makes the weekly maintenance of the campus much easier and much more productive.

We got back to Khulna from Dhaka, where we purchased the mower, on Monday. Friday is the normal work day on campus, when the grass is cut. Constantly during that week students and staff would go by the storage room and look at the mower. When Friday morning came someone ran to get it, and students vied for who would be the first to try it out. Throughout the morning lines formed as each waited his turn to push. It was fun to watch them in their enthusiasm for this new tool.

I am eager to return to Bangladesh, and one thing I want to see is whether the same enthusiasm for working with the mower continues after it is no longer so new. I suspect that excitement may wane. New and different soon becomes routine, then old, and eventually obsolete. Initial excitement turns to boredom and dissatisfaction.

Paul saw a similar phenomenon among the Christians of Galatia. The appeal of the pure and simple Gospel of Jesus Christ was no longer enough for some. Grace was replaced with a new system that afforded more glory to the doer. What man did outshone what God did. The new doctrine was logical, it was attractive, and most of all, it was new, at least to the Gentile Christians of Galatia. So many accepted it.

In our modern world we are constantly bombarded with the new. New fashion, new entertainment, new technology -- yes, and new doctrines and religions. When I graduated from college about 35 years ago there were 300 plus "Christian" denominations. Now it is said that there are over three thousand. New interpretations of Bible teaching are constantly being promoted, along with the latest fashion in worship styles and religious vocabulary. Many people move from one group to the next, always attracted by the newest and most exciting.

We should remember that God only sent one Savior, Jesus only built one Church, and the Spirit only wrote one Book. "But if even we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed" (Galatians 1:8).

Not everything new is better. Not everything old is obsolete. "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever" (Hebrews 13:8).

It is not novelty or change that should be our criterion for acceptance, but truth. John commanded, "Test the spirits, to see whether they have come from God" (1 John 4:1).